In a candid interview for the documentary "We Feed the World", Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck makes the astonishing claim that water isn't a human right. He attacks the idea that nature is good, and says it is a great achievement that humans are now able to resist nature’s dominance. He attacks organic agriculture and says genetic modification is better.

Nestle is the world’s biggest bottler of water. Brabeck claims – correctly – that water is the most important raw material in the world. However he then goes on to say that privatization is the best way to ensure fair distribution. He claims that the idea that water is a human right comes from “extremist” NGOs. Water is a foodstuff like any other, and should have a market value.He believes that the ultimate social responsibility of any Chairman is to make as much profit as possible, so that people will have jobs.And just to underline what a lovely man he is, he also thinks we should all be working longer and harder.

Consequences of water privatizationThe consequences of water privatization have been devastating on poor communities around the world. In South Africa, where the municipal workers’ union SAMWU fought a long battle against privatization, there has been substantial research about the effects. Water privatization lead to a massive cholera outbreak in Durban in the year 2000.

The Nestle boycott Nestle already has a very bad reputation among activists. There has been a boycott call since 1977. This is due to Nestle’s aggressive lobbying to get women to stop breastfeeding – which is free and healthy – and use infant formula (sold by Nestle) instead. Nestle has lobbied governments to tell their health departments to promote formula. In poor countries, this has resulted in the deaths of babies, as women have mixed formula with contaminated water instead of breastfeeding.

Tell Nestle they are wrong – water is a human right!There is Europe-wide campaign to tell the European Commission that water is a human right, and to ask them to enact legislation to ensure this is protected.If you live in Europe, please sign the petition here: http://www.right2water.eu/

"My view is as vast as the sky, but my actions are finer than flour" ~ Padmasambhava ~

There are also parallels with CSG extraction - governments giving corporations the power to come onto any privately owned land, without the owner's agreement, and put down a well. Again, people are pushing back - a bit late and not quite hard enough at times, but we're learning - - see http://www.lockthegate.org.au/.

Companies like Monsanto and Nestle wish to privatize, patent and copyright, and eventually control most of what we have considered to be free, or commonly available, or even natural, such as seeds for next years' crops.

Certain resources need to be regulated, such as air, and water. It is the domain of government to regulate the fair use of these resources. Corporations now seek to control most of what we would have considered natural resources, and to monetize them and then profit from the control and trade of these items. Companies like Monsanto and Nestle, which have traditionally poured millions into the pockets of right wing political parties, don't want neoliberlaism or free trade. They want control. They want to dominate and monopolize natural resources and previously unpatentable commodities, and reap enormous windfall profits. Is any person, NGO, lobbying organization, or government equipped to stop them?

Here in Illinois, I drive past a Monsanto billboard that shows a smiling, handsome farmer....apparently glowing in all of the good that Monsanto is doing for his farm. In reality, Monsanto has sent teams of lawyers to sue small and medium sized farmers for using their patented seed in the next year's crops. In some cases, the wind blew some of Monsanto's Frankenseeds into the farmer's fields, but the farmer lacked the many tens of thousands of $ to defend these malicious suits, and eventually lost their farms to Monsanto's default judgments.

Air may not be a human right either, but I'm guessing the lawyers at Nestle are working on ways to own air, too, and charge you for breathing it.

BuddhaSoup wrote:Companies like Monsanto and Nestle wish to privatize, patent and copyright, and eventually control most of what we have considered to be free, or commonly available, or even natural, such as seeds for next years' crops.

If you believe certain words, you believe their hidden arguments. When you believe something is right or wrong, true of false, you believe the assumptions in the words which express the arguments. Such assumptions are often full of holes, but remain most precious to the convinced.

I've noticed recently that the anti-estabishment "movement" relies as much on misinformation and fearmongering as the establishment itself. Another example being the "the EU wants to regulate your seed" PR-storm I'm seeing now on social media.I'm pretty anti-establishment myself, but things like this can only make people not take you seriously. Doing a little homework goes a long way! (jeez, I sound like my dad)

Corporation is the highest form of "evolution". It is an institution with personal rights, driven by egoism in the same way people are. The difference is, it is created from striving of all its members. Sorry folks, but slowly we are being owned by a "higher" social being, in the same way humans own pigs. Only total collapse of economical system can defeat this order, but then we are back in medieval. No good solution here, especially when this economy is based on natural resources which are almost gone.

I've noticed recently that the anti-estabishment "movement" relies as much on misinformation and fearmongering as the establishment itself. Another example being the "the EU wants to regulate your seed" PR-storm I'm seeing now on social media.I'm pretty anti-establishment myself, but things like this can only make people not take you seriously. Doing a little homework goes a long way!

Nestle in this case was exploiting its access to aquifer water in the US state of Michigan. By obtaining aquifer rights on certain land, it then proceeded to seek permits to pull spring water from the aquifers at the rate of 400 gallons per minute. Of course its engineers knew the disastrous effect that this would have on lake levels and water tables. Nevertheless, when you're selling bottled water for $1.00 a bottle, billions of gallons of free spring water seems like a very good windfall profit scheme.

Nestle believes in private control of water because it understands how to acquire water rights, exploit them for profit and ruin the regional environment. Why on earth would Nestle want control of water in the hands of citizens and their government? How could Nestle reap huge profits by playing fairly and acting responsibly? It can't. So, Nestle joins Monsanto on the list of corporate thieves and criminals.

He seems to misuse the tragedy of the commons, yes. You can see in his blog this is pointed out to him a few times. But I don't see him arguing for privatization of water supply, what I see is a call for a sensible public management. So your kite doesn't fly in this case I'm afraid...

I never pushed for privatization of water. I am not in favour of privatizing public water supply – I am in favour of efficient management of all uses of water.

Now, I don't approve of Nestle's use of aquifers, and I think a lot of his reasoning in regards to this issue is horrible, but I think it's far too easy to pick one thing, label it as bad and run with it without looking at the bigger picture.I didn't actually do research of Nestle's handling of the rights they get to aquifers, but an internet search brings up a lot of bad stuff for them...

Fruitzilla wrote:I didn't actually do research of Nestle's handling of the rights they get to aquifers, but an internet search brings up a lot of bad stuff for them...

This is the point! As for Brabeck, in the video he declares that the opinion of NGOs that the water is a human right, is an extreme opinion. He is against organic movement, and supports GM food. Later, under the pressure of public reaction, he is changing it in: "Water is a human right - but not a free good". In his phrase: "Water as a free good leads directly to what is known as the ‘tragedy of the commons’; exploited by all, protected by none", the key-point is the "lack of protection". Obviously the aim here is for Nestle to manifest as the protector of the common good. How can you really trust in what this guy is saying???

Anyway, the purpose of my post is not Mr Brabeck, but to promote the Europe-wide campaign for telling to the European Commission that water is a human right, and to ask them to enact legislation to ensure this is protected.

"My view is as vast as the sky, but my actions are finer than flour" ~ Padmasambhava ~